WONDERFUL SEAL ISLANDS. 213 



With regard to the Mollusca of the Pribylov waters, the charac- 

 teristic forms of Toxoglossata and Rhachiglossata peculiar to this 

 north latitude are most abundant ; of the Cephalopoda I have seen 

 only a species of squid, sepia, or loligo. The clustering whelks (Buc- 

 cinum) literally conceal large areas of the boulders on the beaches 

 here and there. They are in immense numbers, and are crushed 

 under your foot at almost every step when you pass over long 

 reaches of rocky shingle at low tide. A few of the Neptunea are 

 found, and the live and dead shells of Limacina are in great abun- 

 dance wherever the floating kelp-beds afford them shelter. 



On land a very large number of shells of the genera Succinea 

 and Pupa abound all over the islands. On the bluffs of St. George, 

 just over Garden Cove, I gathered a beautiful Helix. 



The little fresh-water lakes and ponds contain a great quantity 

 of representatives of the characteristic genera Planorbis, Melania, 

 Limnea, and that pretty little bivalve, the Cyclas. 



Of the Crustacea, the Annelidas, and Echinodermata, there is 

 abundant representation here. The sea-urchins, " repkie " of the 

 natives, are eagerly sought for at low tide and eaten raw by them. 

 The arctic sea-clam, Mya truncata, is once in a long time found 

 here (it is the chief food of the walrus of Alaska), and the species 

 of Mytilus, the mussels, so abundant in the Aleutian archipelago, 

 are almost absent here at St. Paul and only sparingly found at St. 

 George. Frequently the natives have brought a dish of sea-urchins' 

 viscera for our table, offering it as a great delicacy. I do not think 

 any of us did more than to taste it. The native women are the 

 chief hunters for echinoidae, and during the whole spring and sum- 

 mer seasons they will be seen at both islands, wading in the pools 

 at low water, with their scanty skirts high up, eagerly laying pos- 

 sessive hands upon every " bristling egg " that shows itself. They 



from the village at either island during July and August the native fisherman 

 usually captures large halibut not in abundance, however. The St. Paul 

 people, as well as their relatives on St George, fish in small " two-hole " bi- 

 darkies. They go out together in squads of four to six. One man alone in 

 the kyack is not able to secure a " bolshoi poltoos." The method, when the 

 halibut is hooked, is to call for your nearest neighbor in his bidarka, who 

 paddles swiftly up. You extend your paddle to him, retaining your own 

 hold, and he grasps it, while you seize his in turn, thus making it impossible 

 to capsize, while the large and powerfully struggling fish is brought to the 

 surface between the canoes and knocked on the head. It is then towed ashore 

 and carried in triumph to its lucky captor's house. 



